David Youngberg
Econ 310
LECTURE 09: ANATOMY OF A BANK
I.
II.
III.
Anatomy of banks
a. Assets—uses of funds
b. Liabilities—sources of funds
c. Capital—bank’s net worth; the cushion
d. Assets = Liabilities + Capital
Profit making
a. Banks make money by turning their liabilities into assets, such
as lending out a deposit (a process called asset transformation).
b. Reserve requirements refer to a regulation requiring the bank to
hold a certain percent of deposits (typically 10%).
c. Required reserves are those deposits.
d. Excess reserves are holdings beyond the required reserves and
are often used for asset transformation (though some are used to
buffer the required reserves).
Risk
a. Like all business, prices in finance embody expectations about
the future, notably the chance of default. Thus financial markets
refer to expected value—the payoff weighted by the likelihood
of getting the payoff or the probability of success (p) times the
reward if successful (R).
i. For example, suppose you had a 50% of winning $100.
That means the expected value of being in this situation
is $50 (0.5 x $100).
ii. All things being equal, smart investors don’t spend any
more than pR to take a gamble (which is why the lottery
is not a good investment).
b. People, however, differ in their approaches to risk. Suppose you
had to choose between a definite gain, D, and an unsure gain,
pR. Suppose also that D = pR. Which do you prefer? (As in,
which generates the higher utility, U?)
i. Most people are risk averse—all other things being
equal, they prefer the less risky investment, even though
it could be more profitable. U(D) > U(pR)
IV.
ii. Some, however, are risk neutral—they are indifferent
between a risky, profitable venture and a safe, modest
venture. U(D) = U(pR)
iii. A few are risk loving—they prefer the riskier investment
even if it has the same expected return as the safer one.
U(D) < U(pR)
LTCM
a. Banks played a major role in LTCM’s rise by lending them vast
amounts of money, even accepting circumstances that were
very favorable to the firm.
b. Part of this reason was banks are under constant pressure to put
the money to work (ie, asset transformation).